Xia Qiu carried Robin, cutting through the waves as they headed toward their habitat. He didn't go directly, instead taking a detour to the front right, circling around the storm area before swimming towards the island.
It took Xia Qiu a full four hours to return to the island. As he climbed up, Robin descended with some difficulty.
Xia Qiu looked at Robin and raised his arm, curiously writing on the ground, "Are you okay?"
Robin saw the writing but didn't reply, instead staring at Xia Qiu.
"What's wrong?"
Xia Qiu wrote another line on the ground.
Robin looked at Xia Qiu and asked, "Little Qiu, can you talk now?"
"Talk?"
Xia Qiu blinked slightly, looking at Robin in confusion.
Robin immediately said, "When you saved me just now, you said something to me."
Xia Qiu tilted his head, looked at Robin, and wrote on the ground, "What did I say?"
"'Get up here quickly, five ships are coming from behind,' you told me," Robin said softly.
"Huh?"
Xia Qiu recalled the events. He had gone to find Robin and instinctively roared a few times. How could he have spoken?
"Talk?"
Xia Qiu tilted his head, opened his mouth, and slowly said, "I... I think..."
"I can really talk now."
Xia Qiu's expression froze, and he immediately said, "I can actually speak."
"Little Qiu, you didn't know before?" Robin asked, frowning.
Xia Qiu quickly shook his head. Just as he was about to write, he slowly said, "No, at least not before today, I couldn't speak."
Xia Qiu guessed that his ability to speak was likely due to another evolution. It might have been the Evolution Energy provided by Bonis, or perhaps the energy from Captain T-Bone and Commodore Madsen hadn't manifested yet.
To speak, three key factors are needed: vocal cords, a tongue, and cognitive ability.
First, vocal cords. They must have the ability to produce a variety of syllables. Dogs can sometimes imitate human sounds, but their vocal cords limit their ability to do so.
Xia Qiu had consumed many humans and Fish-Men. Their bodies were largely composed of Reinforcement Energy, containing little Evolution Energy. However, with a large quantity consumed, Evolution Energy accumulated.
But the accumulated Evolution Energy was limited, making it difficult for parts that were significantly different from his body structure and required modification to grow.
However, vocal cords and other body structures that didn't require significant changes appeared.
As early as seven months ago, Xia Qiu could emit sounds, but they were monosyllabic, only two sounds.
Of course, Xia Qiu's vocal cords mainly inherited the beasts Moo Moo brought him on the island. The Evolution Energy provided by humans only made his vocal cords more complex.
Secondly, the tongue. The tongue is an indispensable part of speech. Parrots can talk because they have thick, round tongues that assist in vocalization.
Xia Qiu's tongue wasn't particularly large; it was thick and incredibly flexible, capable of controlling sound production.
Finally, cognitive ability.
Cognitive ability determines whether one can master language. For example, in primates like chimpanzees and macaques, initial research suggested that chimpanzees couldn't speak due to their vocal cords and mouth structure. However, later studies found that some species, like macaques, could produce vowels like 'a,' 'e,' 'u,' 'i,' 'o.'
Macaques don't speak because they lack sufficient cognitive ability.
Many people say chimpanzees are intelligent, equivalent to a few-year-old child. However, they can do less than children of similar ages. This is because, from an innate structural standpoint, primates develop less than humans, with inherent differences in cerebral cortex and chromosomes. Whether it's cognitive ability, logical reasoning, or thinking skills, the gap is quite large.
Parrots' throat structures differ from humans', but they can speak, though it's merely imitation. They don't understand what they're saying or its meaning.
As for Xia Qiu, he possessed a completely human soul, with sufficient cognitive and comprehension abilities.
Coupled with his mastery of language and the subsequent growth of the corresponding vocal organs, speaking was no longer difficult.
At that time, he couldn't write and needed Robin to follow him, so he could only roar, thus shouting out a sentence.
Animal languages contain thoughts. In this world, some people understand animal thoughts by listening to their language, such as Chopper, Jinbe, most Merfolk, and a small number of Fish-Men.
Of course, in the world of One Piece, speaking is essentially no different from vocal cords and cognition. A starfish once thought it was human and then started speaking.
Xia Qiu came to his senses and was overjoyed. "I can actually speak."
Being able to speak meant he could communicate freely from now on, without the hassle of writing.
"Mm."
Robin felt the earth-shattering sound and took a step back, looking at Xia Qiu. She was somewhat surprised but mostly delighted.
She had never seen an animal that could speak before, but thinking that Xia Qiu possessed intelligence comparable to humans, she accepted it.
More importantly, being able to speak meant they wouldn't need to communicate through writing anymore, making interactions much more convenient.
Xia Qiu happily moved around for a while, then looked at Robin and asked, "By the way, Robin, were you injured just now?"
"No."
Robin shook her head and smiled, "Thanks to you, Little Qiu, I was able to escape."
Xia Qiu asked again, "How is the injury on your hand?"
Robin's hand was bandaged, but judging by the amount of blood on the island, her injuries shouldn't be minor.
"Most of them are superficial wounds. The more serious ones were stitched up. The wound on my palm might be a bit severe, but it's fine after treatment," Robin said with a smile. Then, looking at Xia Qiu, her expression turned solemn, and she asked, "Little Qiu, you're injured. Are you okay? Do you need me to find some medicine?"
Xia Qiu's head injury had healed partially, but his scales were tattered, still looking somewhat injured.
Xia Qiu shook his head and said, "It's fine, it's fine. I'll be okay after eating something. Mmm, I'm hungry now. I'm going to hunt."
*Boom.*
Xia Qiu plunged into the sea, disappearing beneath the surface. He hunted a sea fish and ate it, with Evolution Energy repairing his wounds.
A few more times like this, and he would be fully healed.
After eating, Xia Qiu returned to shore and looked at Robin, asking, "Robin, can you stay here alone?"
"Hmm?"
Robin looked at Xia Qiu and asked, "Little Qiu, what are you going to do?"
Xia Qiu said, "I plan to scout the surrounding waters to see if they'll come here. If possible, I'll lure them away."
This island was nearly a hundred kilometers from Alabasta, with many smaller islands in between.
Furthermore, it was off the main shipping routes, located between two routes.
The magnetic force was weak and couldn't be captured by a Log Pose, so generally, no one would come here.
But it was better to be safe than sorry. Xia Qiu still planned to go back and check, and try to lure them away.
More importantly, Xia Qiu planned to find an opportunity to attack the Marines, using Robin as bait, to keep them in pursuit and confine them to a specific area for encirclement and annihilation.
This way, there would be a continuous supply of energy.
"Little Qiu, be careful," Robin said, looking at Xia Qiu.
"Don't worry. If I can't beat them, I'll go underwater. They can't hurt me," Xia Qiu said. Then he turned and entered the ocean, swimming back in the direction he came from.
...
"Yes, yes, I understand. I accept this outcome. Mmm."
In a medical clinic in Nanohana City, Alabasta, Hina was lying on the bed. Her buttocks were covered by a quilt, but her legs were exposed, with the area above her knees wrapped in bandages.
She held a Den Den Mushi in her hand, listening to the voice from inside. Finally, she said, "I will cooperate to the best of my ability."
After saying this, Hina hung the receiver back on the Den Den Mushi, looking somewhat troubled.
Beside her, Captain Gulf looked at Hina and asked cautiously, "Colonel Hina, what did Headquarters say?"
Hina sighed and said, "They said that since Hina is injured and was defeated by Robin, others will be responsible for pursuing Robin, and I am to hand over the fleet at the branch base to cooperate with them."
"Colonel Hina can use this time to recuperate," Captain Gulf said, looking at Hina. "I wonder which important figure from Headquarters will be coming to pursue?"
"Rear Admiral Sicily is in charge, along with Commodore Disli," Hina replied.
"Rear Admiral Sicily? Although his strength is great, underwater..." Captain Gulf frowned. That Giant Beast was powerful. Commodore Madsen couldn't defeat it. Even a Rear Admiral might not be able to defeat it underwater.
Hina waved her hand and said, "The main objective isn't to fight the Giant Beast, but to capture Robin. Few can stop it if it wants to escape, but if it has to protect Robin, then it has a weakness. As long as there are enough warships, equipped with specialized weapons, and with Rear Admiral Sicily, killing it won't be difficult."
Speaking of which, Hina paused and said, "More importantly, the pursuing force isn't just the Marines."
"Who else?" Captain Gulf asked curiously.
Hina replied, "There are three pirate factions who want to become Shichibukai. Marine Headquarters has made an agreement with them: if they bring back Robin's head, they can become Shichibukai."
"Is that so? Then Robin is in grave danger," Captain Gulf shook his head.
Hina sighed, "It's just that Hina can't catch her with her own hands."
...
White Land, Baltigo.
"Commander, a message has come from the front lines. Robin attacked Nanohana City in Alabasta and destroyed three warships. At least one Marine Commodore and one Colonel are dead," a soldier reported to the tall figure who entered the office.
"Robin attacked Nanohana City?" The tall figure spoke slowly, asking with some confusion, "Killing Crocodile is not a problem; that person was wicked and deserved to die. Why would Robin attack a city? According to the information we had before, she lived in the underground society but rarely harmed people proactively."
"People always change," a young girl wearing a round hat said from the side. "After eighteen years of fleeing since the age of eight, living in such an environment, not many people can remain unchanged."
The tall figure nodded and looked at the figure leaning back in a chair, with his legs propped on the desk in the distance. "Sabo, take your team to Alabasta and investigate this matter. If she really attacked civilians, then capture her. If not, you and Koala will help her evade the Marines' pursuit. Her identity is special, and she has killed a Marine Commodore and a Colonel. The Marines will definitely mobilize a lot of forces to pursue her. She alone, even with a powerful Giant Beast, will have difficulty escaping the Marines' pursuit. Originally, we couldn't pinpoint her location, but now it's much simpler. Save her, and then ask if she's willing to join the Revolutionary Army. She is the sole survivor of Ohara and our 'Lamp of Revolution.' We can't let her die like this."
"Leave it to me," Sabo slowly stood up and stretched. "Koala, Haku, get ready. We're heading to Alabasta."
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